Sending professional emails and managing contacts are crucial elements of running a successful business. Two of the most popular email marketing platforms on the market are SendGrid and Constant Contact. Choosing the right one for your needs can impact how effectively you communicate with customers.
In this in-depth Sendgrid vs Constant Contact comparison, we will evaluate the two platforms across several key criteria to help you determine the best solution.
We will look at market position, ease of use, customization and design options, e-commerce integration, analytics capabilities, customer support, and pricing models. Keep reading as we dive into the details across these evaluation categories!
1. Understanding the Basics
SendGrid was founded in 2009 by Isaac Saldana, Jose Lopez, and Tim Jenkins. It is now owned by Twilio after being acquired in 2017. SendGrid reached more than 80,000 customers in 2019 and the SendGrid Facebook page has over 15K engaged followers.
Constant Contact got its start in 1998 under founders Randy Parker and Richard Yaeger. As of 2022, Constant Contact touts has about 600,000 customers around the world. Check out groups like the Constant Contact Users Groupto engage with other users.
Both SendGrid and Constant Contact have been around for over 10 years and have solid market footing. SendGrid has faster growth while Constant Contact offers services to more total customers so far. Joining related social media groups can provide opportunities to connect with each platform’s community.
2. Features and Functionality
Automation
SendGrid
SendGrid offers robust automation with Workflows. The online marketing platform allows you to set up triggers based on time or user actions to send emails, add contacts to lists, update data, and more. Workflows support if/then logic and lets you chain multiple conditional actions.
You can also leverage SendGrid’s Email API to incorporate event-driven email functionality in your apps. The API handles event webhook integration for allowing external triggers. Overall, SendGrid provides flexible options to create advanced, automated email workflows.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact has an easy-to-use Visual Editor for building automated email campaigns. You can configure send time rules, sequential messaging, and filters based on customer behaviors. The editor simplifies complex conditional logic.
Additionally, Constant Contact enables automation with its APIs. You can integrate external apps and set up event-based triggers to activate email sending. The platform also supports adding custom fields to track data for triggering messages.
While Constant Contact does not have quite the depth of conditional options as SendGrid, its automation tools are more user-friendly for non-technical users. It provides a solid foundation of automated features for most small business needs.
Winner: SendGrid
SendGrid wins when it comes to automation capabilities. Its Workflows editor allows both user-friendly drag-and-drop creation and advanced JavaScript-based logic. Along with its developer-centric Email API, SendGrid is the best choice for users looking for complex, customizable automated email functionality.
Email Templates
SendGrid
SendGrid provides hundreds of professionally designed, dynamic templates to choose from. Templates are mobile-optimized and cover common use cases like welcome emails, promotions, newsletters, and more.
The template editor makes it easy to customize colors, fonts, and design elements with a simple drag-and-drop interface. There’s an image library, and you can also edit HTML and CSS code directly for advanced customizations. Overall, SendGrid’s templates are visually appealing and quick to adapt.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact offers hundreds of responsive email templates for every type of email campaign need. Templates come with pre-designed color schemes, fonts, and art layouts.
The template editor provides drag-and-drop tools, WYSIWYG styling, and support for both desktop and mobile previewing. This simplifies the process of applying branding and designing an on-brand look. Constant Contact also lets you save custom templates for reuse.
Winner: Tie
Both SendGrid and Constant Contact provide professional, customizable templates to choose from to suit a wide variety of email campaign needs. Their easy-to-use editing interfaces simplify tailoring designs for a brand’s unique style. When it comes to email templates, SendGrid and Constant Contact are evenly matched.
Segmentation
SendGrid
SendGrid enables both basic and advanced subscriber segmentation. You can create segments based on user behaviors like email opens, clicks, and activity. Dynamic segments automatically update based on user data without needing manual tag management.
Additionally, the email marketing service offers complex segmentation with blend modes and nested logic statements, a feature that is ideal for small businesses. You can get extremely targeted with your audience grouping into multiple custom segments. Overall, SendGrid provides flexible and precise segmentation.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact makes it easy to create saved segments from your contact database. Segment conditions can include email metrics, activities, demographic data, purchase history, campaign exposure, and more. You can combine multiple conditions using “and” or “or” logic to target specific groups.
While useful for basic segmentation needs, Constant Contact lacks dynamic updating of segments. You also can’t create nested segments or apply advanced logical filters. So, SendGrid provides more advanced options.
Winner: SendGrid
When it comes to crafting targeted subscriber segments, SendGrid comes out on top. Its robust conditional logic and dynamically updating segments enable both simple and incredibly precise segmentation not fully offered in Constant Contact.
Analytics
SendGrid
SendGrid provides robust email analytics and campaign reports to help understand your audience and optimize email performance. Reports include detailed engagement metrics like open, clickthrough, bounce, and unsubscribe rates. You can filter reports by selected time periods and email types for analysis.
Additionally, SendGrid offers heatmaps that visualize user interaction, lead gen, and conversion overlays to display website activity after email exposure. The depth of data and visualizations simplifies analyzing the impact of your email campaigns.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact’s dashboard displays high-level engagement metrics for your recent campaign sends. You can further dive into reports that breakdown opens, clicks, bounces, forwards, unsubscribes, and website visits based on your emails.
Useful features include being able to A/B test email content and preview how messages will appear across different email clients. But overall, Constant Contact trails behind SendGrid when it comes to detailed email analytics and reporting.
Winner: SendGrid
With its expansive reports, custom data filters, and visualizations like heatmaps and conversion overlays, SendGrid is the winner for email campaign analytics for multiple users. It provides greater depth of data and flexibility to slice metrics across different segments and time periods for optimizing your email performance.
Unique Features
SendGrid
A standout capability offered by SendGrid is email deliverability tools to improve inbox placement. Features include sender authentication like SPF and DKIM to verify your domain, reputation monitoring to catch issues quickly, and expert coaching on deliverability best practices.
SendGrid also provides add-ons through their Marketplace for expanded functionality like SMS messaging, chatbots, retargeting ads, and more. Integrating these third-party apps expands what you can achieve.
Constant Contact
One unique aspect of Constant Contact is its suite of complementary marketing tools outside of email. This includes options for building websites, creating online listings, running Google Ads campaigns, managing social posts, and more.
Having integrated solutions across multiple channels makes Constant Contact a potential one-stop shop. However, the expanded tools also come with added complexity compared to SendGrid’s tight email focus.
Winner: SendGrid
With its specialized email deliverability tools and Marketplace for integrating top third-party apps, SendGrid is the winner for having the most impactful unique features. The platform’s singular focus on providing a robust email marketing solution with powerful deliverability capabilities beats out Constant Contact’s broader but less deep set of functionalities across channels.
3. Ease of Use
SendGrid
SendGrid provides an intuitive dashboard interface with quick access to email campaign creation, contact management, reporting, and other key functions. The getting started experience offers in-app guidance for setting up accounts, importing contacts, creating subscriber segments, and launching your first campaign.
The platform uses clear, descriptive menu labels and consistent layouts across pages. This accelerates completing tasks without confusion. SendGrid also surfaces helpful tooltips with additional explanations as you navigate through the interface.
Overall, SendGrid offers an above-average learning curve compared to competitors. While not as simplistic as some email platforms, new users can typically get the hang of things within a few hours.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact focuses heavily on simplicity and ease of use. The organized dashboard cleanly guides you through a linear workflow to create and send email campaigns and view reports. Intuitive icons, descriptions, and visual cues help you quickly complete key tasks.
Impressively, most users can start sending their first email campaign within just 10-15 minutes of signing up. Constant Contact also provides excellent in-app tips, live chat support, and onboarding walkthroughs targeted at beginner skill levels.
Winner: Constant Contact
When it comes to the absolute ease of getting started, nothing beats Constant Contact. The platform’s intuitive interface and abundance of guided help content make their solution both immediately familiar and simple to begin leveraging quickly with a minimal learning curve. Constant Contact wins for the easiest email marketing tool for newcomers.
4. Email Deliverability
SendGrid
SendGrid prioritizes deliverability through features like comprehensive email authentication, inbox detection tools, reputation monitoring, and expert coaching on best practices. This gives you greater confidence in avoiding the spam folder.
Granular tracking at the mailbox provider level highlights issues with ISPs like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo. SendGrid’s deliverability team also actively works with major ISPs to maintain strong relationships to protect the sender’s reputation.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact focuses more on simplicity than robust deliverability protections. The platform handles fundamentals like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for authenticating your domain.
However, there is less visibility into provider-level deliverability rates or reputation metrics. Constant Contact does offer deliverability monitoring add-ons at an extra cost for more in-depth optimizations.
Winner: SendGrid
With specialized tools for gaining deliverability insights across top mailbox providers and proactive sender reputation management, SendGrid is the clear winner for email deliverability. Constant Contact lags behind with less transparency and fewer protections baked into its core platform.
5. Customer Support and Community
SendGrid
SendGrid provides 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support plans depending on your account level. They also offer additional premier support via phone for larger enterprise needs. Self-serve help resources include robust online documentation, how-to videos, and training webinars.
The SendGrid Community, SendGrid Engage Facebook group, forums, and developer content expand DIY knowledge sharing between users and staff experts. Overall, support options are very reliable.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact offers 24/7 live chat, email support, and community Q&A for all users. Larger accounts qualify for priority access via phone. Self-help reference covers extensive FAQs, walkthroughs, and video tutorials on the interface and email marketing best practices.
Active user forums and the Constant Contact Connect Facebook group further tools for engaging peer users and troubleshooting issues. Constant Contact does not have as many available channels as SendGrid but still provides solid support.
Winner: SendGrid
When it comes to customer support access across multiple live channels like chat, phone, email, and robust self-help content for all knowledge levels, SendGrid edges out Constant Contact. The existence of both expert support staff and engaged user communities on social forums gives SendGrid the win.
6. Integrations
SendGrid
SendGrid provides native integration with leading CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Microsoft Dynamics to easily sync contacts and campaign data. Its open API and webhooks also make SendGrid highly customizable to connect with other marketing, sales, and analytics tools.
Additionally, SendGrid’s partner marketplace offers over 200+ direct App Integrations with web and mobile apps to expand functionality. Standout additions include integrations for webinars, chatbots, social posting, SMS messaging, and more.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact enables native CRM integration with Salesforce to synchronize contacts, share email performance data, and view campaign results from within Salesforce. Open API options also exist for linking other platforms.
Its online marketplace includes 100+ integrations across email enhancement apps, phone and SMS tools, accounting systems, feedback plugins, and e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify. The app selection is decent but smaller compared to SendGrid.
Winner: SendGrid
With its vast marketplace spanning over 200+ apps and services, deep API customization capabilities, and CRM tool integrations, SendGrid clearly wins when it comes to platform integrations. Constant Contact trails closely behind but lacks the same expansive ecosystem offered by SendGrid.
7. Pricing
SendGrid
SendGrid offers a forever free plan for up to 100 emails/day and 2,000 contacts. Their paid plans start at $15/month for 40k emails/month and 5k contacts.
Volume-based pricing gives you discounts as your email usage scales into the millions. Data and analytics are limited on lower tiers. Deliverability features like dedicated IPs cost extra.
Overall, SendGrid is affordably priced for small to mid-market email volume needs. Enterprise-level emailers will appreciate the volume discounts but may find the à la carte fees for certain features pricey.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact’s free trial lets you send to 500 contacts. The Lite email plan for up to 500 contacts offers additional features like event management tools, social marketing features, and marketing CRM starting from just $12/month.
The rigid list-based pricing model makes it costlier if you have a large audience and send at lower frequencies. However, plan discounts or free email marketing promotions are sometimes offered for annual subscriptions.
Winner: SendGrid
For the flexibility of only paying for the volume you actually use and seamlessly scaling up or down monthly, SendGrid is the winner on pricing vs Constant Contact. The paid plan lets you send unlimited contact volumes and has transparent usage-based rates beat out rigid list size packages that overcharge for larger yet infrequently messaged audiences.
8. Reviews and Reputation
Twilio SendGrid
SendGrid earns strong reviews for its email deliverability and automation capabilities. Users praise the platform’s detailed analytics reporting, flexible API integrations, and excellent reliability.
Common downsides cited include complexity for beginners and the learning curve to master advanced features. SendGrid holds an average 4/5 star rating on G2based on 300+ user reviews and is an Editors’ Choice and Leader pick across review sites.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact wins consistent praise for ease of use, especially for email marketing newcomers. Users highlight the intuitive drag-and-drop editor, good templates, and quality customer support.
Drawbacks mentioned in reviews include rigid pricing structures, lack of more advanced features by default, and occasional deliverability issues. Across over 1,500 G2 reviews, Constant Contact maintains a 4/5 average satisfaction rating.
Winner: SendGrid
Based on a track record of slightly higher average review scores and more glowing feedback for its core email automation and marketing functionalities, SendGrid emerges as the winner over Constant Contact when it comes to overall user satisfaction and reputation within the industry.
9. FAQ’s
SendGrid FAQs
- What types of emails can I send with SendGrid?
SendGrid supports transactional email, marketing campaigns, automation workflows, and any other email needs. - Does SendGrid have email templates?
Yes, SendGrid provides beautiful pre-designed email templates covering common use cases that are customizable. - Is there a way to integrate SendGrid with my CRM?
SendGrid offers native integrations with leading CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, as well as custom API integration. - How does SendGrid pricing work?
SendGrid has pay-as-you-go pricing based on how many emails you send per month, starting at $15/month.
Constant Contact FAQs
- What features are included in Constant Contact’s email marketing?
Features include templates, a drag-and-drop editor, contact management, automation, basic analytics, and integrations. - How much does Constant Contact cost?
Pricing is based on number of contacts, starting at $12/month for up to 500 contacts. - Does Constant Contact have free trials?
Yes, Constant Contact offers free 60-day trials so you can test out their email marketing platform. - Is Constant Contact easy to use?
Constant Contact prioritizes usability through an intuitive interface and guided onboarding tools for beginners.
Final Thoughts
Choose SendGrid if…
SendGrid is the best choice for those wanting greater customization capabilities and advanced features as their needs grow beyond basic email marketing blasts. SendGrid scales particularly well for transactional applications, developers integrating email functionality into apps, and technically experienced users who welcome some added complexity in return for expanded platform power.
Choose Constant Contact if…
Constant Contact shines brightly for small business owners prioritizing simplicity from the start of their email marketing journey. If you know you will only occasionally message subscribers, lack coding skills, and value a platform where you can create your first campaign in minutes with an incredibly gentle learning curve, Constant Contact checks all the boxes on usability.
My guide to Constant Contact alternatives may also come in handy.